We All Fall Down
by Ireadyourletter87
Summary: What happens when Claire falls for the wrong guy? And what happens when she lets it go too far? Rated T for now but might be M later.
1. We All Fall Down

We All Fall Down

Chapter One

(Present Day)

The hallway was crowded with kids stuffing their lockers with new school materials, chatting with their friends and being more than unprepared for all that was to come in the following year. For a lot of them it was the first year of high school. For others, they were on their way out of Degrassi High, juniors or seniors who were older and more experienced but still nervous and excited all the same. Everyone was eager to see what was waiting for them this year, who they would meet, what kind of drama ensued. Everyone, that is, but Claire.

Claire was Darcey's younger sister. Beautiful, smart, funny, popular, cheer leading Darcey. Darcey's shoes were huge ones to fill, and the task wouldn't be easy. In fact, Claire was dreading having to deal with it. It was bad enough just being a freshman at a new school, let alone having to follow in Darcey's footsteps.

Sighing, Claire headed down the hall way in search of the closest ladies room. It was halfway down the hall on the left side, and she had to weave between a few people to get to it. Inside it was quieter and Claire had more of a chance to really think things through.

Her thoughts were quick to sway from school however. The old Claire would never have let something happen that might get in the way of her education. Of course the old Claire never would have done something this rash. Something so rash, it could possibly cause Darcey to never speak to her again. And it wasn't even supposed to happen. It was a total whim, a one time thing. Or at least, it was supposed to be one time, until it happened the second time, and then kept happening.

But he was so beautiful, and charming, and so sweet. And he was so nice to her and it seemed as though he really liked her. And no guy had ever really liked her before.

The door slammed and shook Claire from her thoughts. It was a girl, of course, around Claire's age, but with much darker hair and skin. She was Sav's little sister, Ali.

"Hey Claire, whats up?" Ali asked, peering at her own reflection in the mirror. She wore a long skirt, and a blouse buttoned up to her neck which she quickly began unbuttoning.

"Nothing I- what are you doing?

"Getting Naked," Ali laughed. "Relax prude, I'm wearing clothes underneath. I can't leave my house wearing what I want to wear, my parents wouldn't approve. How was your summer?"

"Oh I get it. Um, it was good I guess." Claire's eyes glossed over and she looked dazed.

"So whats his name?"

"WHAT? WHO? Why would you just assume that there is a guy?"Claire shouted.

"Because you have that look on your face that people in movies get every time they fall in love- wait a second, are you...youre not...in love?"

"What, me?" Claire couldn't look her in the eye.

"Claire," Ali grabbed her by the shoulders. "Spill!!"

* ********


	2. Kiss and Tell

Chapter 2

( 3 months earlier)

"Claire, he's wonderful. And he was singing in the band last night. He used to go to Degrassi High and he is so cute." Darcey babbled. They were sitting out by their cousins pool enjoying the start of summer and Darcey's first Friday night out. The previous evening she had gone with a handful of friends to a concert in the city and apparently fallen in love. Claire could care less about concerts and boys. She was never invited to those sorts of things and boys never gave her attention so why should she care about those things in return?

But never the less, Darcey loved those things, especially boys, and she especially loved to talk about them. She was a kiss and teller and unfortunately for Claire, she was the one who had to hear about it.

"Well...what did he look like?" Claire asked, bored and knowing that this was a question that Darcey would go on and on about leaving Claire to daze off and only have to pretend she was listening.

"He has brown hair and he's tall but not too tall and he played guitar in the band and he has such a cute smile and oh he has brown eyes and you know how I love brown eyes. Anyways I gave him my number and I so hope he calls," Darcey went on and on. "And you know Claire if he and I start dating, maybe he has a little brother or something for you."

"Darce, I could care less if he has a little brother. And I think you're stupid for getting so caught up in that stuff anyway. He might not even call," She stood and turned to go inside. " And you better not let mom hear you talk about this stuff, you know she'll have a fit."

"Jeeze Claire, you need to get a life. And I won't let Mo-," Darcey was interrupted by her cell phone. She picked it up and the screen read _Craig. _"Oh my god Claire. It's him"

**********


	3. Dirty Details

Chapter 3

(Present Day)

"There is no guy. Or at least not anymore. He's just someone I met over the summer. But he is more than off limits. And anyways I don't need a guy to distract me from schoolwork." Claire explained.

"Oh there so is a guy. There so is, and you so love him and-" Ali giggled but before she could finish the bell rang. "If you didn't care so much about grades I'd make you skip class and give me the dirty details."

"Ali! There is not one dirty detail about my life! " Claire snapped and walked out of the ladies room flustered. Once she got into the hall it took a second for her to get her head in the right spot and actually remember where she was supposed to be heading. Taking a breath, she began the walk to her advanced math class. She tried to think about how much she would enjoy math and how she would make new friends, but she just couldn't get her mind off of the fact that she had lied to Ali.

**********

( 2 and a half months earlier)

Darcey had been dating Craig for two weeks and she hadn't brought him home yet. She had talked to Claire about it so much that it made her sick and it made her sure that whoever this guy was, he was probably a total moron. Darcey had crap taste in guys anyway. She probably couldn't find a smart guy if he came up and yelled quadratic equations into her face.

Claire sighed. One day it would be really nice to find a guy like that. Smart and cute, and funny. One that could make her laugh, and that wouldn't judge her for being interested in something other than parties and alcohol. One who could maybe even...tap into her sexual side. Claire daydreamed until there was a knock on her door.

"Claire honey? Can I come in?" It was her mother.

"Of course Mama." Her mother opened the door and poker her head inside,.

"It's time for dinner, and we have a guest. Wash up and come to the table."

"Okay, I'll be there in a second." Claire answered, curious about who their guest could be. Her parents hadn't mentioned any relatives coming over. Maybe it was one of Darcey's friends.

She crawled off of the bed and stood up, and it was then that she heard the music. A soft gentle melody, coming from the living room. She followed the sound down the hall and around the corner, almost hypnotized by the song. She turned the corner and then, there he was.

There he was sitting on the couch, and there was his brown hair and brown eyes and his sweet smile. And he had a voice like an angel. She sat on the comfy chair across from him, and noticed Darcey on the floor by his feet for only a second before her gaze returned to the beautiful boy playing the guitar.

He stopped playing suddenly, and surprised her by looking directly into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but notice you come in. I'm Craig." He held his hand out to shake hers.

"I...Claire." She held her hand out but it seemed like all of her strength had gone and her handshake must be very weak.

"I'm friends with your sister. She didn't mention that she had a younger sister until today though." He smiled.

"Thanks Darcey," being mean to her sister always restored Claire's confidence. "She probably didn't tell you about me because she's just embarrassed that I'm the smart one."

"And the funny one too apparently." Craig laughed but stopped immediately when he saw the look of disdain on Darcey's face.

"Well. There really isn't much to tell about you is there Claire? Besides the fact that you always have your nose in a book and never want to do anything fun." Darcey growled.

"Hey, hey guys, don't fight. Lets just go sit at the table. Your parents are never going to let me come back here if I start a war between you two on the first day."

"You're right, Craig," Claire stood up. "After you."

Craig walked into the dining room quickly, leaving Darcey and Claire alone.

"You are such a bitch sometimes," Darcey spat. "Why don't you grow up?"

*********

(Present Day)

"Claire! Claire!!" Ali yelled, running down the hallway. It was lunch period and Claire was trying to find the library so she could eat alone in silence. Obviously now that wasn't going to happen. She stopped walking and turned around to let Ali catch up to her.

"This is so great," Ali smiled, out of breath. "We have lunch together so you can tell me everything!"

"What if I don't want to?" Claire asked half sarcastically.

"That is SO not an option," Ali laughed. "Especially now that you've admitted that there is in fact something going on!"

"Ah fine. But if you tell anyone I will murder you."

"Claire! Threatening to murder people?! Something definitely happened this summer because the old Claire would never do that!" Ali teased.

"The old Claire is long gone. Come on, lets go to the courtyard. If I'm telling you this, we're going to have to find a tree really far away that we can sit under and talk in private." Claire ordered.

"Deal. You're secret is safe with me."

They walked down the hall and into the front lobby without any problems. The courtyard was filled with people and it took them longer than they thought it would to find a secluded place. Once they sat down and began to eat Claire decided it was okay to open up.

"Okay well...do you remember that party we met at this summer? You blackmailed Sav into taking you and I was forced to go by Darcey?"

"Yeah...over at Marcos apartment? What about it?"

"Well...do you remember Craig?"

"You're sisters boyfriend? The one who caused all the drama that night because Manny was there and she failed to tell your sister that Craig was the famous ex boyfriend that Manny dated?"

"Yeah, thats him. Well do you remember how after that I kind of...dissapeared for a little while?"

"Yeah, you to get some air right?" Ali asked eagerly.

"Um....not exactly...See, I was getting some air, on the front porch. But then, Craig showed up. I guess he needed air too....and then..."


	4. Beautiful

Chapter 4

(Marcos Party 2 Months Earlier)

Claire sat on the swing on Marcos front porch and inhaled. The sweet smell of fresh air was ecstasy compared to the smell of cheap beer and cigarettes inside of Marcos house. The party was in full force and Craig and his band were playing music in the living room. Darcy had immediately left Claire's side when they walked in the door because of Manny and her ridiculous text messages. Apparently Darcy hadn't known that Craig was the very same guy that had broken Manny's heart a million times before. Claire had heard the story of how Craig was different now from Darcy about eight million times and she even almost enjoyed it. It gave her time to zone out and just think about him.

He had come over a dozen times since the night they met. One night they watched a movie and Craig had insisted that she stay despite Darcy's annoyed looks. That night when Claire had reached for the popcorn her hands brushed against Craig's. She could have sworn he held his hand there for at least a second longer than he should have.

The air was warm and Claire could spot a few of the constellations in the sky. She lost herself in the stars for a moment, happy just to be sitting in silence allowing herself to be taken away by the beauty of nature. She had been wishing on those stars for as long as she could remember even thought she had never had a wish come true. But that was okay, because those stars were always there. She could always depend on them and that was very comforting to her.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted, however, by the sound of a screen door opening and soft footsteps padding across the porch. She looked up, startled, and was surprised when she saw Craig standing there.

"Hey you, why did you skip out so quickly. I was hoping you would watch me play a song or two." He smiled, running a hand through this thick brown hair.

"Oh," Claire looked down at her hands in her lap. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." He sat down next to her.

"Well, it's just, this isn't really my scene. I know that sounds stupid but I'm just not the kind of girl who likes to get drunk or make out with boys whose names she doesn't even know."

"Somehow, that is totally okay with me," Craig laughed. "You know that there is nothing wrong with you, right?"

"You mean besides the fact that I am completely socially retarded, and physically I am just totally plain? Oh yeah, I'm perfect." Claire couldn't believe that those words were actually coming from her mouth, even though they were always in her head.

"Claire," he sat down next to her. "There is nothing wrong with you. You're smart and funny. And you're not plain. You're beautiful."

Claire looked at him, dumbfounded. She didn't know what to say. No one had ever called her beautiful before. And no one besides her parents had ever complimented her on being smart.

"Thank you," she said finally. "No one has ever told me that before."

"No one has ever told you that you're beautiful before? That's insane." He looked genuinely surprised.

"Why is that insane?" She looked up at him shyly.

"Because," he took her hand and looked into her eyes. "You are...more beautiful than...I don't know...you are just so beautiful." He spoke slowly and nervously. She wondered for a minute if he was going to say that she was more beautiful than Darcy, but was quick to brush that thought away.

"Craig, what is it?" She asked, trying not to show how eager she was to hear his answer.

"Claire, I don't have the words for it, I don't, I wish I did. Just know that you aren't plain, okay? I go over to your house and I notice you. And I like that you are passionate about life and learning. And I like the color of your eyes. And I..."

Suddenly, his hands were on her face and his lips were pressed against hers. The whole world came crashing down and then just faded away. There were stars and silence. He pulled her closer and wrapped his hands around her waist. She put her hands around his neck and her fingers tingled when she tangled them in his hair. When he pulled away he leaned his forehead on hers, never losing eye contact. They breathed, slow and heavy.

And then, before he could say anything, and before she could over think everything, Claire pulled him closer and kissed him again.


	5. The Virgin Clairey

Chapter 5

(Present Day)

Ali looked at Claire with that jaw-on-the-floor face for a while before she actually spoke.

"Claire, you hooked up with your sister's boyfriend!" She shrieked.

"Ali! Be quiet!" Claire looked around eagerly to make sure that no one had heard.

"Ohmygod Claire, you are crazy! Did you sleep with him?" Ali was giddy with excitement. Fortunately for Claire, the bell rang, ending their conversation, at least for a while.

"Call me when you get home! I want the dirty details!"

"Can't," Claire said while she grabbed her books and stood up. "Someone might hear me and Darcy can't know anything. Just meet me at the Dot after school and I'll tell you what happened so you can help me fix it!" With that she took off down the hall not wanting to hear what else Ali might have had to say.

The rest of the day went by at a snail's pace and Claire was sure she was going to go crazy. Why did she even tell Ali? What if Ali told someone? What if they told someone? What if everyone knew and Darcy found out? Claire was sure she was going to go completely insane if the last bell didn't ring soon. She had to get out of school and breathe fresh air and get her thoughts straight.

Finally the bell rang and Claire made a mad dash down the hall to her locker. Derek and Danny were standing by her locker talking when she opened her locker with a violent yank and accidently hit Danny with the door.

"What the hell, Claire? Where's the fire?" He snapped, rubbing his head.

"Sorry Danny," she yanked her math notebook from her locker. "I'm meeting someone."

"Is it...a guy?" Danny laughed high five-ing Derek.

"No, Losers, its Ali. Now get out of my face." She slammed the locker shut and took off down the hall.

The dot was crowded but Ali had arrived early enough to score their usual corner booth. Claire showed up shortly after and was quick to slide into the booth and order a shake. After their drinks arrived and they shooed Holly J away from the table Ali leaned in close, eager to hear the rest of Claire's crazy summer scandal, and still completely in shock over what she had already been told.

"So what the hell happened?" She whispered "Did you sleep with him?"

"Why are you so interested in who I'm having sex with?" Claire whispered loudly.

"Seriously Claire, it's you. The Virgin Mary? If you had sex I want to know, especially if you had sex with your sister's boyfriend." She laughed.

"It's not about sex, Al." Claire sighed. "And keep it down, will you?"

"Oh relax; it's so loud in hear, no one is going to hear. And what was it about then? No wait, don't tell me. I don't care, I just want to know what happened after the kissing!" she smiled.

"Do you not even care that I may have potentially ruined my relationship with my sister and she's going to hate me for life if she ever finds out!" Claire raised her voice unintentionally but caught herself before it escalated to a yell.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I do care, but I need all the details first before I can help you figure anything out."


	6. Conquest

(Marcos Party: Two months earlier)

When she pulled her face back from Craig's he was still staring into her eyes.

"Wow." seemed to be the only thing that he had enough breath to say.

"So what happens now?" Claire looked at him, shocked that she had said what she was thinking out loud and terrified of what his answer might be.

"I'm not sure. Do you want something more to happen?" He asked, gently rubbing her hands in his.

"I don't know," Claire stuttered. "Do you?

"Well shit, Claire. I mean, I'm still with Darcy and I…" he trailed off.

"So what was that then?" Suddenly she was terrified and her mind was reeling with thoughts about how stupid she was for kissing him. Hadn't she heard what he had done to Manny? How could she think that this guy could really have feelings for her?

"I don't know," he stumbled on his words, suddenly awkward and uncomfortable. "It just happened. I mean, I think you're a great girl, Claire, but-

"But what? You just wanted to see if you could get the goody-goody to kiss you? You wanted to be able to say you kissed both Edwards girls? Was I just a conquest?" She stood up, yelling at him.

"Claire, no-" but he was too late, she was already walking towards the screen door, which was being opened by someone else, that someone being Darcy.

"Claire, are you okay?" She asked, walking past her sister and towards Craig.

"Yeah fine, Darce. I'm just going to grab a beer. I'm trying not to be such a GOOD-GOODY, you know?" She glared at Craig and then she slipped inside the door and was gone.

"Did you say something to her? What the hell happened?" Darcy sat next to Craig, curious about the strange look on his face.

"No..she was just upset about um..some boy at school," he lied, rearranging his face into a smile. "I guess she didn't like the advice I gave her."

"Oh, okay. In that case," Darcy smiled. "I've missed you. Come here and kiss me!"

"I've missed you too, love." Craig widened his fake smile, and leaned toward her. He felt her lips on his and her tongue slip between them but instead of feeling chills this time, he only felt like he was going through the motions.


	7. Stupid

To leavemebejessica: I know! He's kind of a kissing whore but I just wanted to toy with the idea of him kissing someone he hasn't made a move on yet. And Darcy is obnoxious to Claire so I kind of wanted to write a story dealing with their relationship.

Chapter 7

(Present day)

"So you got into a fight with him and that was it, right?" Ali looked at Claire and rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me and no that was not it." Claire snapped.

"All right, all right. So what happened?"

"Ughhh," Claire sighed. "We made up. Which was so stupid. "

(1 and a half months earlier)

After the party Claire had avoided Craig every time he had come over for a couple of weeks. She had planned to forget about him entirely and erase him from her memory just like that but it ended up being easier said than done. It wasn't like there was anything else to really focus on anyway. And the fact that he kept on coming over really didn't help the situation either.

In any case, all of those plans changed when Craig came over for the Edwards mid-summer barbeque. The house was packed with Darcy's friends playing Badminton in the yard or listening to music in the living room. Claire spent the first couple of hours bored to death watching people play Rock Band in the basement before she decided to escape to her bedroom. It was in the hallway on the way there that it happened.

It was probably a good thing that she didn't have any mace on her because Claire was quite certain that she would have blinded him if she had. She had made it about halfway down the hall when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she had time to react she was being spun around and soft, delicious lips were pressed against hers. She might have pulled away faster had she not realized immediately that they belonged to Craig.

Instead she let him press her back against the wall and tangle his hand in her hair. She let him slip the other one up her shirt just a little bit and shook as his tongue explored inside her mouth. She even wrapped her hands around him and let them rest on the small of his back for a minute before she realized what she was doing. But it ended almost as soon as it started.

"Craig, what the hell are you doing?" She pushed him away.

"I don't know. I've just missed you, Claire." He looked embarrassed.

"You mean you missed copping a feel? "She spat back.

"No! I mean I miss you. I want you, I-"he looked down, ashamed. "I don't know what I'm doing with Darcy."

"You don't just get to switch sisters depending on your mood Craig, it doesn't work like that."

"I fucking know that, okay?" He nearly yelled. "I've been thinking about you since Marcos party. About what happened and how sorry I am for upsetting you. I know it shouldn't have happened but, I wanted it to. I still want it to."

"I can't do that to my sister."

"I know. I'm sorry." He looked so sad that she couldn't help herself moving closer to him and letting him take hold of her hand.

"I hate you so much." she smiled as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.

"I know." He whispered, tilting her chin towards his face. She sighed, but when he kissed her, she kissed him right back.


	8. Texting

Chapter 8

(Present Day)

"Oh my god, Claire," Ali whispered "This is starting to seem serious!"

"Have you been listening to me at all? It IS serious! Might-ruin-my-relationship-with-my-sister-forever serious!" Claire hissed. They had ordered fries and Ali was shoving them into her mouth by the handful, listening to Claire's story intensely.

"Okay well maybe it's not so bad, I mean, it stopped there, right? I know you, and you would never let anything get _that _far, right?"

"I told you, the Claire you know is dead and this new Claire is a bad, bad person and Darcy will never forgive her, me, Bad Claire, and-"

"Okay, okay," Ali cut her off. "Just tell me what happened next."

(1 and a half months earlier)

It had been a week since the incident in the hallway and Craig had been making more and more excuses to "come over and hang out with Darcy". In reality, Darcy was hanging out in the living room when Craig "went to the bathroom" and ended up kissing Claire in the linen closet for ten minutes. Darcy was hanging out in the kitchen making brownies when Craig "received a phone call he had to take" and excused himself into the drive way to make out with Claire up against the Oak Tree in the side yard. Aside from that, he and Claire had been text messaging each other non-stop into the late hours of the night and meeting up with each other at the park in the wee hours of the morning. In other words, they had been sneaking out for a week, and Darcy was clueless.

Claire felt terrible that she was doing this to her sister, but she couldn't really stop either. For the first time in her life, someone was showing interest in her. More than that, he wanted her. She was becoming increasingly excited and nervous about the context of their text messages at night. She would never have thought that she would be the type to type dirty text messages to a guy, hell, she would never have thought that she would be the type to do a lot of things that she ended up doing with Craig. It was like he had a spell on her, she was hypnotized by the fact that he seemed to be seeing in her so many things that no one else ever had.

**Craig(4087695432)**

**12:45AM**

I love that movie too. We should cuddle up and watch it sometime. ( ;

**Claire(4087651234)**

**21:47AM**

I would like that. But I don't know how much of the movie we would actually watch. ( ;

**Craig(4087695432)**

**12:49AM**

Not very much, I bet. It's not my fault that you are so sexy.

_Did he just call me sexy? _ Claire thought, laying in her bed on Tuesday night. How could anyone possibly think that she was sexy? Especially now, in a pair of pink pajama pants with white bunny rabbits, and an oversized Downtown Sasquatch T-shirt that Craig had given to her the night before. She inhaled and was momentarily overwhelmed by the smell of his body wash and cologne.

**Claire(4087651234)**

**12:54AM**

I'm not sexy, you are just crazy. ( :

**Craig(4087695432)**

**12:55AM**

Don't you know how sexy you are? Meet up with me at the park so I can show you…

**Claire(4087651234)**

**12:56AM**

I'll be there in ten minutes.

**Craig(4087695432)**

**12:57AM**

See you soon, Sexy ( :

Claire snapped her phone shut and jumped off of her bed, grabbing a pair of jeans and heading to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth; put her jeans on and pulled her hair into a pony tail. She would have to sneak to the living room to get her shoes, and then creep back into her bedroom to climb out of her window.

There was one light on in the living room casting a warm glow but there was no one there. Claire grabbed her sneakers from under the coffee table and noticed Darcy's cell phone lying on the couch next to the TV Remote. She picked it up hesitantly before she flipped it on and scrolled through her sister's text messages.

She knew it was wrong but it was just so weird for Darcy to not have her phone attached to her face or glued into her hand. There was no way that she would have just left it out here, missing calls and text messages. Something had to be up and Claire needed to know if it had to do with Craig.

She scrolled through some text messages from Manny forgiving Darcy for the whole Craig thing and inviting her to help with the first dance of the school year, and a few text messages from Emma asking why Darcy had blown her off that afternoon, and then there it was.

**Craig(4087695432)**

**8:00PM**

Yeah, I'm just not feeling to good. Maybe tomorrow night?

**Darcy (4083072384)**

**8:01PM**

Uv blown me off 4 the past 3 nites, C. R U Mad at me? ) :

**Craig(4087695432)**

**8:07PM**

Not mad, just been busy.

**Darcy (4083072384)**

**8:08PM**

2 Busy 2 C me? ) :

**Craig(4087695432) **

**8:12PM**

I'm sry, maybe tomorrow I will feel better and we can get ice cream?

**Darcy (4083072384)**

**8:13PM**

Can I at least call u? Im lonely and want 2 hear ur voice : /

**Craig(4087695432)**

**8:20PM**

Sry, my throat hurts. I'll call in the AM. G'nite.

**Darcy (4083072384)**

**8:21PM**

OK talk 2 u 2morrow then. ) :

So there it was, he was blowing Darcy off so he would be around to text Claire. She didn't really know what to think of this. On the one hand, it was really sweet that he was making time for her, but on the other hand what he was doing to Darcy was really shady. _Then again_, she thought_, what I'm doing is really shady_. She knew that they couldn't do this forever, it wasn't fair to her or Darcy or even Craig really.

Claire put the phone back down on the couch where she had found it and crept back to her room. She put her sneakers and a crept out the window. Looking back at her sister's window she decided that she would have to talk to Craig about this tonight. They couldn't keep doing this to Darcy, it had to end.


	9. Selfish

Chapter 9

(Present Day)

"So that's it then?" Ali frowned. "You broke it off that night?"

"Well," Claire said, "Not exactly."

(1 and half months earlier)

"What took you so long? I was starting to get worried." Craig stood up from the picnic table and pulled Claire into a hug. The night was warm and the moon was almost full, illuminating the playground around them. Claire felt herself choke up at the thought of what she was about to do and the thought of never hugging him again, reading his playful text messages or kissing those lips again.

"Hey what wrong?" He looked down at her, notice the stiffness in her body. "Did something happen?"

"No. Yes. Kind of." Claire looked at her shoes and searched for the words to tell this sweet, sweet boy goodbye.

"Come here, it's okay." He led her to the picnic table and helped her sit down before sitting down close to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Tell me what happened, Babe."

"It's just," she looked up at him and felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. "I found Darcy's phone and I know I shouldn't have but I looked and you were blowing her off to be with me and we can't keep doing this to her." She babbled, the tears flowing freely now.

"Claire," he whispered, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "I know. I feel really bad about all of this too. The lying, the cheating, I told myself that I would never be that guy again..."

"I hate lying to her. Even if she is a total bitch, she's my sister." Claire sniffed.

"I know, I hate the lying too. But how exactly am I supposed to say that I don't want to be with her because I'm falling for her sister?"

"You're falling for me?" Claire looked up at him and smiled gently.

"Yes, and I know it's only been a short period of time but, I think that we really have something here. And I don't want to give that up, Claire." He smiled down at her and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"So where do we go from here?" she asked, hoping that he would have the answers she was so desperately searching for.

"Well, actually, Joey's taking Angela to some used car salesman convention in Maine this weekend and I sort of asked Sav and he said that he would cover for you and you could say that you were spending the weekend with Ali…" he looked at her with a sort of hopeful puppy look.

"Are you asking me to sleep over your house? " She was grinning now, both thrilled and completely shocked that this moment was even happening in her life.

"Yeah, I mean we don't have to do anything or whatever. We could just order pizza and watch movies. "

"But what about D- I mean where are you supposed to be that weekend?"

"I'm at the car show with Joey and Ang, if anyone asks. So what do you think?"

"I think that if we get caught, I will be murdered by a lot of different people. But it would be worth it, to be with you." She crawled into his lap and looked into his eyes.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

He smiled down at her and kissed her gently. She tangled her fingers into their usual spot in the hair on the nape of his neck and kissed him harder. _I want this, and I deserve to be selfish just this once, _she thought, _it's my turn to get the guy this time…_


	10. Scum

**Authors Note:** this chapter is rated PG:16 for some mild sex talk ( :

Chapter 10

(Present Day)

"What?" Ali shrieked. "You used me for a cover, and I didn't even know about it? "

"Shhhh!" Claire hissed. "There are people here, you know!"

"Seriously, Claire I'm dying here. Please tell me that you didn't spend the weekend with him. Actually wait; please tell me that you did and that you made sweet love and that it was perfect!" Ali clapped her hands together giddily.

"Ali, how can you not see the severity of this situation? " Claire rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you had sex with him than the situation is clearly more serious than it is if you didn't have sex with him. So did you?"

"What make you think that we didn't just have tons of oral sex all weekend?" Claire laughed, forgetting the situation momentarily.

"What?" Ali almost jumped out of her chair. "Did you..did you like go down on him? Or did he, like.."

Claire was almost surprised at how quickly Ali had quieted down at the mere thought of her "innocent" friend doing something like that.

"No, of course not. I haven't changed that much. I was just kidding, you perv."

"Jesus, Claire! That is so not funny!" Ali frowned. "So what happened then? You just hung out and talked about life?" She rolled her eyes.

"Well," Claire smiled "Not exactly.."

(One month Earlier)

"Whoa," Claire said as she sat down at the breakfast table. "What happened to you?"

Darcy was staring into a bowl of untouched cheerios, looking like she hadn't slept in days. It had been a few days since the discovery of the texts between Darcy and Craig, and Claire was beginning to wonder if agreeing to spend the weekend at Craig's house was a good idea after all.

"Boys suck. " Darcy snapped, shoving her cheerios away and spilling milk on the table. "Craig was supposed to go to Emma's beach house with me this weekend for her summer party but he bailed on me last night. He's going to a car show with Joey. **A car show.** Seriously?"

Claire was momentarily lost for words. What was the right way to respond to that? She couldn't exactly say "Gee Darce, I sure am sorry that you're boyfriend blew you off so he could spend the weekend alone with me!" But then, she couldn't pretend that she didn't even care, because she really did feel badly about the whole situation.

"Well, maybe he promised Joey? Or maybe he just isn't that big on partying?" Claire tried to reason sympathetically. Maybe if she could find an excuse for Darcy not to feel bad, then she wouldn't feel so bad herself.

"He didn't **promise **Joey anything, and he does like to party. Why am I even talking to you about this? You don't even know him!" Darcy pushed back her chair and started to stand up.

"Darcy, wait," Claire sighed. "I'm sorry that he blew you off. It really sucks, and you're right, it's a total jerk move."

Surprisingly enough, Darcy sat back down. Biting her bottom lip, and twirling a piece of hair in-between her fingers, she looked at Claire with watery eyes.

"He's been so distant lately, Clairebear," a tear slid down her cheek and onto the table. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've never had a guy behave like this before. What if he dumps me? I've **never **been dumped!"

Claire felt like dirt. Worse than dirt actually, more like the scum on the bottom of your shoe after you get off of a crowded train.

"Maybe you should dump him then, if he isn't treating you right, I mean." For a split second Claire had herself convinced that this was actually a decent solution, before she realized that it wouldn't fix the fact that she was still the Other Woman and that her sister would still have to find that out someday if she and Craig were ever going to be a real couple.

"I can't just break up with him, Claire," Darcy jumped from her seat and yelled. "I love him!"

Darcy was out the door and down the hall before Claire could even think of a response. She heard Darcy's door slam and simultaneously her cell phoned chimed a familiar ring tone. Craig. She hesitated before looking down at her phone.

**Craig(4087695432)**

**10:32AM**

Hey babe, I can't wait for tonight!

**Claire(4087651234)**

**10:24AM**

Ya, me too

**Craig(4087695432)**

**10:38AM**

Wow, don't sound so enthused. Is something wrong?

**Claire(4087651234)**

**10:40 AM**

Just watching my sister cry over you. You know, the usual. ) :

She knew that last text wasn't fair but she was angry and taking it out on him was easier than admitting that she was really angry at herself. But really, how could he put her in this situation? He had days to tell Darcy that he couldn't go, and chose to tell her the night before they were supposed to leave. How did he think Darcy would react?

**Craig(4087695432)**

**10:45AM**

I'm sorry. You don't deserve to be put in this situation. Neither does she.

**Craig(4087695432)**

**10:46AM**

I understand if you don't want to come over tonight.

Claire sighed. Now she felt badly for making him feel bad. She hadn't meant to guilt trip him; after all it wasn't entirely his fault. And she did still want to spend the night with him.

**Claire(4087651234)**

**10:47 AM**

No, I'm sorry for snapping. I still want to come over, if I'm still invited.

**Craig(4087695432)**

**10:50AM**

I feel like shit, now. But I still want you here. I rented Ghost World. ):

**Claire(4087651234)**

**10:52AM**

Don't be sad. I'll be there at 8 and we can cheer each other up. ( :

She sent the text message and then sat back in her chair, confused. How had the tables turned so quickly? One minute she was mad at him and the next she was feeling incredibly guilty. What kind of power did he have over her? It couldn't be very healthy, she knew that for sure.

**Craig(4087695432)**

**10:55**

I can't wait to hold you in my arms again. See you at 8.

Claire stood, shoving the phone into her pocket. She couldn't wait to be in his arms again either, warm and safe in the perfect place to make her forget the terrible thing that she was doing to her sister.


End file.
